The story of the little dam in Kerrville's Louise Hays Park

Louise Hays Park dam, sunset.
Click on any image to enlarge.

I’ve spent hours watching the Guadalupe River flow over the concrete dam in Louise Hays Park, and generations of kids have played near it, both above and below its spillway. I’ve also seen fishermen casting there, though often without much success. The only fishermen who I’ve seen have success there also have wings – several species of birds fish there regularly.

And I’ve seen hundreds of photographs of the water flowing over the dam there, mostly taken by locals and posted on social media.

Like most of the structures in downtown Kerrville, that old dam has a story.

Surprisingly, that story starts with an even older dam – made of wood.

Originally built by Christian Dietert, that wooden dam diverted the power of the Guadalupe River into a mill Dietert built. He used the mill to saw lumber, process grain, and even generate electricity.

The dam was first built in the 1850s. It was rebuilt many times, after many floods. After Charles Schreiner obtained the mill, he had the dam reinforced and made taller. For many years, one of his sons kept the dam in somewhat safe repair.

In fact, one can often guess the date when a photograph was taken by looking closely at the dam and its state in the photograph.

When Kerrville built Louise Hays Park in a single day, the old wooden dam looked rickety and unsafe. Some felt it was time for the old dam to come down, but the water it impounded into the little lake was a fine feature for the new park.

In 1952, R. R. “Railroad” Tarr came up with the idea to replace a 75-year-old wooden dam with a concrete one.

Tarr collected about $8,000 in donations, and went to City Hall, only to be told the donations he’d collected should be used to repair the old dam. Tarr told them the money had been “pledged to a concrete dam – a new one.”

Willard E. Simpson designed the new concrete dam; Jasper Moore built it, at a cost of about $25,000. Jess Stahlings and Dick Furman sought donations, and the amount was raised in about two weeks.

The dam they built still stands in Louise Hays Park, and was dedicated on December 12, 1952. It’s the same dam in the park today, though with various repairs showing and some minor bits missing. It also tells the story of Kerrville people seeing a problem, coming up with a solution, and raising the money to fix it. No idea why they involved city hall.

I’m glad they replaced the dam – and that it still stands. The Guadalupe River, as it tumbles over the dam, is a pretty thing to watch.

Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who has enjoyed many a swim in that little lake in Louise Hays Park. This column originally appeared in the Kerr County Lead September 26, 2024.